The present invention relates to a drivetrain for an amphibious vehicle and, more particularly, to a drivetrain which is located between a motor and a transmission such that the transmission may be spaced apart from the motor.
Amphibious vehicles present unique design challenges. Unlike cars and trucks which are designed specifically to be driven on the land and boats which are designed specifically to be driven on water, amphibious vehicles must be designed to handle both tasks equally well. When driven on land, the body of an amphibious vehicle must ride high enough off the ground to clear standard obstacles faced by all road vehicles. On the other hand, when the amphibious vehicle is driven in water, the vehicle must sit low enough in the water to be stable. The stability of the vehicle in water is increased as it's center of gravity is lowered.
One way to lower the center of gravity of the vehicle is to lower the relative positions of the mechanical items that drive the amphibious vehicle. One of the heaviest mechanical items in an amphibious vehicle is the motor. Another item which is substantially heavy is the transmission, which is connected to the motor. Consequently, it would be beneficial to lower the position of the motor and the transmission in the body of the vehicle.
In general, motors in amphibious vehicles are mounted in a front portion of the body or hull, as is common in cars and trucks. This arrangement allows for more room in the body of the vehicle for passengers and cargo than in situations where the engine is mounted towards the middle or rear of the amphibious vehicle. A drawback of this arrangement, however, is the configuration of the hull or body of the vehicle. As the underneath of the body must be watertight and solid to allow the amphibious vehicle to float, the bottom of the body or the hull must be designed to conform to the parts of the vehicle which must remain outside of the hull to allow the vehicle to move on land. In other words, the wheels and the axles of the vehicle must be located on the outside of the water tight body. So that the entire body does not have to be above the wheels, which would result in a vehicle with a extremely high center of gravity, contours are provided in the underneath side of the hull that permit the body to be lowered around and partially encompass portions of the wheels and axles.
One of the contours that is provided in the underneath side of the body is a channel which partially encompasses the front axle. This channel, like the axle it surrounds, is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body and is located in a front portion of the vehicle. The motor and transmission combination is generally parallel to the longitude axis of the vehicle as a drive shaft extends from the transmission to the rear axle of the vehicle to supply the rear wheels with power. As the front axle channel protrudes up into the cavity in the front portion of the body where the motor and transmission sit, it presents a barrier to being able to lower the motor and transmission in the hull to lower the vehicle's center of gravity and increase it's stability.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of lowering the relative positions of the motor and the transmission in an amphibious vehicle while maintaining the presence of a axle channel in the front of the vehicle's hull. The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and fills these and other needs.